9 Chapter 9 Is This Alchemy?_1
Translator: 549690339
Allowing all disciples to witness, these words made Li Cheng hesitate.
With thousands of disciples on Seventh Peak, refining pills in front of so many people would be terribly embarrassing if he failed.
For a moment, Li Cheng felt like the stubborn Seventh Elder was trying to make a joke of him?
He hadn’t noticed it before, but did the Seventh Elder have such schemes? Did he want Li Cheng to realize the difficulty and back down?
Seeming to understand what was going through Li Cheng’s mind, the Seventh Elder hurriedly explained, “Don’t misunderstand me, Junior Uncle. Our Seventh Peak is different from the other peaks; everyone is preoccupied with refining pills and rarely has the chance to gather.”
“This time, with the Inner Gate mountain opening ceremony, all disciples have put down their work, and it’s a rare opportunity for us to assemble.”
“So, I thought it would be good for all the disciples to observe me refining pills, hoping they could gain from the experience.”
The Seventh Elder’s face was full of sincerity.
Li Cheng realized that perhaps he had overthought the situation.
“Alright, let’s begin then!” Li Cheng nodded.
Although he had never refined pills before, backed by his strong cultivation and True Fire, and armed with the knowledge of a seventh-rank Pill Master, he believed he would soon get the hang of it.
Soon, the news spread throughout the Seventh Peak.
The most powerful Eighteenth Elder of the sect was to exchange Alchemy Dao knowledge with the Seventh Elder, and they would each refine three types of Breakthrough Pills!
The entire Seventh Peak was boiling with excitement!
All were eager to rush to the foot of Seventh Peak; they were unsure of the Eighteenth Elder’s prowess in Alchemy Dao but knew that the Seventh Elder was a sixth-rank Pill Master. Watching him refining pills could save them years of hard training!
And the pills to be refined this time were the most challenging type of Breakthrough Pills at the third, fourth, and fifth levels. If they could gain some insights, it would benefit them for life.
In the sky, the sect’s higher-ups gathered from all directions, heading straight for Seventh Peak.
Clearly, they too had received the news.
“Junior Uncle is really going through with the challenge? He doesn’t think that alchemy relies solely on powerful True Fire, does he?”
“Alchemy, artifacts, and formations all require a significant accumulation of experience to excel. Junior Uncle has focused on cultivation for thirty years. Even with the Sixth Elder’s imparted alchemy insights, it’s impossible to achieve anything substantial in just three days. The challenge will at least let him realize the difficulty and ascend earlier.”
Hearing the Elders discuss, the Sect Master also let out a sigh of relief, “The Sixth Elder sent a message indicating that Junior Uncle has chosen to refine Nascent Soul Breaking Dan, Spirit Transforming Dan, and Fusion Dao Pill. These three Spirit Pills can be considered the strategic pills of any power. What is Junior Uncle thinking?”
Such Spirit Pills have only a ten to twenty percent success rate; slightly higher, and it could lead to the creation of more Nascent Soul Stage, Divinity Transformation Stage, and Fusion Dao stage powerhouses.
For any power, this is extremely significant, not an overstatement to call it a strategic resource.
And Li Cheng specifically chose to refine these three types of Spirit Pills, which is quite puzzling!
“Perhaps after obtaining powerful True Fire, Junior Uncle feels capable of refining these three types of Spirit Pills?”
“Haha, we’ll know when we see. Let’s not make blind guesses!”
At the foot of Seventh Peak lies a plaza, used for Alchemy Dao exchanges of the peak.
At this moment, at the center of the plaza, two large three-legged tripods stood, and the surrounding stands were already filled to capacity.
Not only the Seventh Peak residents but many disciples from other peaks who had heard the news also rushed over, ready to enjoy the show.
“The Seventh Elder is a sixth-level Pill Master; across the Southern Domain, he is already a top-tier Pill Master. Public pill refining is a rare opportunity indeed!”
“Thanks to the Eighteenth Elder, otherwise, how would we have the chance to watch the Seventh Elder refine pills?”
“That’s true, look, here they come!”
All disciples seemed to automatically dismiss Li Cheng because, when it came to the Alchemy Dao, no one in the entire sect could compare with the Seventh Elder.
When it comes to cultivation, Li Cheng is unrivaled, but regarding pill refining, everyone knows the real focus is the Seventh Elder.
Perhaps, Li Cheng was deliberately provoking the Seventh Elder to refine pills publicly.
So, when the two stepped into the arena, everyone automatically overlooked Li Cheng.
“Junior Uncle, let’s follow the old rules, two portions of materials for each Spirit Pill, regardless of success or failure, when they’re used up, that’s it,” the Seventh Elder said with a solemn expression, as though he were about to enter a battlefield.
Li Cheng nodded, “Relax a little, it’s just an exchange, no need to be so serious.”
The Seventh Elder did not say much, pointing to the two Pill Tripods in front of them, “Junior Uncle, both of these Pill Tripods are top-grade Spiritual Artifacts. Please, you choose first!”
Li Cheng glanced casually at the Pill Tripods and said, “I remember our sect has a half Immortal Artifact-level Pill Tripod. Seventh Elder, try harder to communicate with it. If you can gain its approval, the success rate of alchemy could be improved by several percentages!”
The Seventh Elder’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed. That was a half Immortal Artifact, not something you could obtain just by trying harder, but something that depended on fate!
He had tried to communicate with it countless times, but the tripod had never responded to him.
Next to the two Pill Tripods, six portions of materials had already been placed, all of them top-grade ingredients.
Li Cheng walked up to one of the tripods, wrapped a portion of Nascent Soul Breaking Dan materials with his Spiritual Sense and threw them into the Tripod, then said, “Seventh Elder, let’s get started then!”
The Seventh Elder was stunned, “Junior Uncle, I have the Pill Recipe for the Nascent Soul Breaking Dan in my insights. Why did you throw everything in all at once?”
A Pill Recipe was something countless people had pondered and explored. Following the order in the Pill Recipe to melt and blend the herbs correctly involved considering the compatibility of various herbs—it couldn’t be done recklessly.
Such a haphazard approach, just dumping everything in at once, seemed more like stewing a pot of mixed vegetables. How was that alchemy?
The different characteristics of each herb meant that even the slightest carelessness could cause the furnace to explode. Of course, a chaotic stew wouldn’t work!
This was common sense!
The many disciples and high-ranking members watching all frowned. Was this Li Cheng’s alchemy?
From any perspective, wasn’t this just a waste of ingredients?
If you added some water, it might even feel like simmering traditional medicine.
Li Cheng understood what the Seventh Elder was thinking, nodded with a smile, and said, “Seventh Elder, when you refine each herb, you lift the lid to add another, but during this process, some of the Pill Qi inevitably escapes, subtly reducing the potency and even affecting the strength of the compatibility between the herbs.”
He continued, “So, I suggest you throw all the herbs in at once and use your Spiritual Sense to separate them within the Tripod. Then, following the Pill Recipe’s order, start melting and blending them. This way, you can maximize the retention of each herb’s properties.”
Upon hearing this, the Seventh Elder couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Such a technique was easy to talk about but extremely difficult to execute, as it was essentially multitasking.
Without a powerful Spiritual Sense, it was unthinkable.
However, if one really could do it, then as Li Cheng had said, the success rate would indeed be higher.
The Seventh Elder cleared his throat and said, “Well then, let’s start!”
He didn’t use the method that Li Cheng had suggested and instead started to methodically refine the Nascent Soul Breaking Dan.
Having refined that Spirit Pill countless times, practice made perfect for him. Each of his movements seemed to resonate with some underlying Dao, eliciting awe from the spectators.
Li Cheng did not rush to start refining but observed the Seventh Elder instead.
Before long, Li Cheng lost interest in continuing to watch and slapped the Pill Tripod with his palm. A surge of potent True Fire instantly erupted as he began the alchemy process.
At the sight of True Fire, everyone was astonished. “What terrifying True Fire!”
The power of Li Cheng’s True Fire was concentrated on the Pill Tripod, but the emitted aura still took the crowd by surprise!
“The Eighteenth Elder truly is the strongest in the sect. With just his True Fire, I fear even ordinary Loose Immortals would be defeated, right?”
“I don’t understand alchemy, but I’m curious. How can any herb withstand such strong True Fire? Won’t they instantly turn to ash?”
The many disciples started to discuss in low voices.
They were unable to notice that at that moment, over a dozen extremely powerful Spiritual Senses had also descended onto the scene to observe in secret.
Li Cheng detected these Spiritual Senses and after a bit of thought, he understood—these were the sect’s hidden Loose Immortals!
Just for a session of alchemy, it had drawn out the Loose Immortals of the sect?
